Journal of Communication Disorders, Deaf Studies & Hearing Aids
Open Access

Technological advances in sound-based approaches to tinnitus treatment

International Conference and Expo on Audiology and Hearing Devices

August 17-18, 2015 Birmingham, UK

Deborah Hall

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: Commun Disord Deaf Stud Hearing Aids

Abstract :

The past decade has seen increased drive to comprehend chronic subjective tinnitus from the perspectives of improving both
scientific understanding and clinical management. At the same time, there is significant interest and commercial investment
in providing targeted and individualized approaches to care which incorporate novel sound-based technologies, with standard
audiological and psychological strategies. Within our lab we have explored an experimental intervention based on frequencydiscrimination
training, while numerous other sound-based devices for tinnitus are already available as commercial products. Many
of these interventions overtly claim to target the underlying neurological causes of tinnitus. In this talk, I briefly give a scientific
appraisal of these claims. I conclude that although many of the recent technological innovations for individualized sound-based
interventions make reference to central auditory mechanisms as a key underlying principle for their efficacy, there is insufficient
evidence to strongly support those claims.